How do Shut-Out Pool Hall BS

stevekur1

stevekur1

The "COMMISH"
Silver Member
I have been having a hard time tuning out all the BS in the room i play in lately, how do you tune it out. note: that all of these same players would like you to be quiet while they are playing in a game. I have tried the iPod thing, that i also distracting to me..


Thanks
Steve

Maybe i should tell them to shut the F&@# up ! ! ! !
 
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stevekur1 said:
I have been having a hard time tuning out all the BS in the room i play in lately, how do you tune it out. note: that all of these same players would like you to be quiet while they are playing in a game. I have tried the iPod thing, that i also distracting to me..


Thanks
Steve

Maybe i should tell them to shut the F&@# up ! ! ! !
Click to expand...
 
For eliminating noise errr... loud music, I know someone who uses ear plugs or instead uses ipod with his own form of more soothing, relaxing, focus driven music.

For wild antics and such... You really have 2 choices...
1. to disagree with it: usually something in the form of they shouldn't be X... thus creating a whole series of conversations in your head making judgements about X. Then you can add more on top of it, by now determining how you're going to dissipate X scenarios when they occur. At which point, it'll be a test of whether you can now return to focus and if not then it is often followed by blames and excuses.

2. to accept it as normal: you're in a pool room and those types of behaviors are going to happen. When you accept it as normal, then it turns back into a simple matter of you maintaining your focus at the table. When you are able to put your focus in the right place, it's amazing how much of the other antics that can be drowned out.
It may be an exercise in keeping your cool in tense situations. So for some it may be achieved very quickly. For others it make take years to achieve results. For others they may not have the will-power nor disposition to do it at all.


Just my $.02 worth
 
shoot with toddler aged children in the room.... seriously if you can focus in that environment nothing will shake you...
 
FLICKit said:
For eliminating noise errr... loud music, I know someone who uses ear plugs or instead uses ipod with his own form of more soothing, relaxing, focus driven music.

For wild antics and such... You really have 2 choices...
1. to disagree with it: usually something in the form of they shouldn't be X... thus creating a whole series of conversations in your head making judgements about X. Then you can add more on top of it, by now determining how you're going to dissipate X scenarios when they occur. At which point, it'll be a test of whether you can now return to focus and if not then it is often followed by blames and excuses.

2. to accept it as normal: you're in a pool room and those types of behaviors are going to happen. When you accept it as normal, then it turns back into a simple matter of you maintaining your focus at the table. When you are able to put your focus in the right place, it's amazing how much of the other antics that can be drowned out.
It may be an exercise in keeping your cool in tense situations. So for some it may be achieved very quickly. For others it make take years to achieve results. For others they may not have the will-power nor disposition to do it at all.


Just my $.02 worth
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Wow, number 2 im going to try, when I miss its because of things around me distracting me too, its one of the things that holds me back from consistently beating upper tier players.
 
stevekur1 said:
I have been having a hard time tuning out all the BS in the room i play in lately, how do you tune it out. note: that all of these same players would like you to be quiet while they are playing in a game. I have tried the iPod thing, that i also distracting to me..


Thanks
Steve

Maybe i should tell them to shut the F&@# up ! ! ! !
Click to expand...

Just say something like, "Hey guys, this is a pool room. If you want to talk loud, go somewhere else." Or maybe, "I am trying to play and your talking is really making me play bad." I am sure they will understand!:p

Seriously, I don't have a great answer for you. Maybe ear plugs or just act real weird and they will not want to be around you.
 
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I would be careful if you do this though....

Klopek said:
The more uncomfortable you feel or the less confident you are over a shot or opponent, the more you become aware of your surroundings. As you learn to become more internal with your game and develop "burning focus" as they call it, the less these things will bother you. It just takes time and match experience, you can't just flick a switch or eat a different food before the match. It's all part of the mental game.

Some things that you can apply are, while sitting in your chair, watch the balls and never take your eyes off the table for anything. Don't look at the pretty girl across the room or hate on that banger scooping the cueball over in the corner. Stare at the rack until you feel like you're going to burn holes in the felt. This will keep you in the game even when you're parked in the electric chair.

Analyze your opponents patterns and anticipate the results. Try to figure out where your opponent will leave the cue ball if they should miss. This will give you more time to create a game plan when you finally get back to the table.:)

And don't forget, you can't control anything but your decisions.
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A lot of the time I won't really watch the table too closely when my opponent shoots. There is a tendency to let your opponents rythm influence your own, so by not concnetrating too much on your opponent's shooting, it becomes easier to maintain your own rythm.
 
In my opinion or atleast for me when you get in the zone all of that bs on the side just fades away on it's own. If your feeling pressure then everything gets to you. Just focus on playing and it will naturally tune out the noise. Most of the time anyway. Does for me.
 
bs

What you mean they bs ??? boy glad they dont play at my room as i dont put up with that!!! just kidding, i am the worst of the worst at BS, but have never been a room that you dont get BS, semes to me that is where we come to get a ear man to listen to our war &pool stories!most mean no harm, if im running tourny i make sure it is controled for benefit of players!!:D :D :D
 
I think it really depends on the poolroom you're at. Some places are just rowdier than others.

The most annoying thing to me, actually, are those who start yelling at everyone to be quiet. They end up causing more of a scene. Spanish Eddie over at Broadway Billiards is notorious for glaring at anyone who even walks past his table if he's playing for money; as if somehow he owns the joint and no one can walk by to use the bathroom. God help you if you even try to have a conversation within twenty feet of his table because he'll start yelling about how you're sharking him and how he's going to hit you over the head with his cue.

The BS and the characters are just a part of the individual poolhall. You either put up with it or find a new joint.
 
Nine Ball said:
In my opinion or atleast for me when you get in the zone all of that bs on the side just fades away on it's own. If your feeling pressure then everything gets to you. Just focus on playing and it will naturally tune out the noise. Most of the time anyway. Does for me.
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I hate to say it, but this kid does know something. When you're playing good, nothing bothers you. When you're not, you hear everything.

Examples - Danny Medina is playing $100 9-Ball in a bar in Denver, and as he gets down to shoot the nine, a gun goes off in the parking lot. LOUD! Danny calmly shoots the nine in. When asked if the gunshot bothered him, Danny's response was "What gunshot?"
 
The Ipod is the right idea. Just take it a step further. Find 1 song, you wouldn't mind hearing over and over. Find a song with a good beat to it. Something that will get you in a rhythm. Put the Ipod on repeat one. See if that helps. I believe the repetition of the song is just like your stroke repitition. You will get to a point where you are not really aware that you are listening to a song b/c it has become part a you. It won't be like listening to a jukebox.

It has worked wonders for me. I played in a handicapped 9 ball tourney this weekend with a tough field and I finished 4 out of 38. My best finish yet.

My 2 cent FWIW.
 
The Ipod is the right idea. Just take it a step further. Find 1 song, you wouldn't mind hearing over and over. Find a song with a good beat to it. Something that will get you in a rhythm. Put the Ipod on repeat one. See if that helps. I believe the repetition of the song is just like your stroke repitition. You will get to a point where you are not really aware that you are listening to a song b/c it has become part a you. It won't be like listening to a jukebox.

It has worked wonders for me. I played in a handicapped 9 ball tourney this weekend with a tough field and I finished 4 out of 38. My best finish yet.

My 2 cent FWIW.
 
softshot said:
shoot with toddler aged children in the room.... seriously if you can focus in that environment nothing will shake you...
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I see I'm not the only one using this as an advantage LOL!

My 3 yr old loves to ride his tricycle around and around my table in the garage while I'm practicing/playing. I have learned to just ignore it, move out of his way between shots sometimes, etc.

My wife once asked if he was bothering me and if she should take him in the house. I said, no, it's alright, if I can ignore him and still shoot good, then the drunken A-holes at the bar won't bother me either. :D
 
I use ear plugs.

I can't stand loud music or loud noise so I started using them a few years ago. To me, blocking out the sound is only half of it - I can also CLEARLY hear myself breathing when I am using the ear plugs - and breathing is one of my methods to slip into the zone.

As for the idiots.. they were in pool halls 35 years ago - today they're still there - the only thing I can tell you is buy your own home table.
 
concentration and focus seems to be the key for me.

Yesterday, I broke and ran a rack, I couldn't have told you 2 minutes afterward what was going on in the bar during that run. It might have been quite or very loud, I don't remember.

Other times, my friend ordering a drink can cause me to miss an easy shot or position.

I wish I knew how to bring that intense focus all the time, but sometimes I have it, sometimes I don't. It seems to be easier to get into that mode if I feel that I'm playing well, it lets me relax and focus on playing my game.
 
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